The Sacred Earth: Jewish Perspectives on Our Planet

Andrue J. Kahn

Jun 2023 · CCAR Press

About this ebook

The Torah begins by setting forth the heavens and the Earth as God's creation, impelling humanity to steward our planet for its own sake and for its ability to nurture our lives. Yet the human-Divine-environment relationship seems to be in perpetual crisis. The Sacred Earth is a contemporary Jewish response to the looming threat of climate change, the widespread desire for experiential spirituality rooted in nature, and the continually changing relationship between humanity, nature, technology, and the Divine. The leading thinkers in this collection reflect on human vulnerability in the face of forces of nature, examine conceptions of our place in cosmology, and grapple with environmental destruction. Ultimately, with hope, they creatively explore ways to redeem this sacred Earth.

It was for such a time as this that The Sacred Earth was published. As we face the very real possibility of an impending climate catastrophe and certainly the reality of widespread suffering because of ecological devastation, this volume gives us the spiritual resilience we will need to rise up and collectively confront the challenge. This book is a deep and urgent call to action as Jews in the broader social movement to save the planet.

--Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director, Religious Action Center

In this invaluable collection, Jewish thought leaders from a diversity of backgrounds and positions delve deep into text, theology, and history to bring new perspectives to the fight to save our planet. For anyone interested in what millennia of Jewish wisdom can teach us about today's climate challenges, this book is required reading.

--Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

The Sacred Earth---a wide-ranging collection of Jewish teachings on ecology---offers profound insights and inspiring challenges to all of us, who must immediately rise up and protect our planet and all life upon it from utter devastation.

--Susannah Heschel, PhD, Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor, Dartmouth College

This impressive collection is a reminder that, in the words of contributor Karenna Gore (executive director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and daughter of former Vice President Al Gore), "it is not the earth that needs fixing; it is us." A well-researched and diverse collection of Jewish writings on our collective responsibilities to the planet.

-- Kirkus Reviews